1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electronic devices having displays.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many types of mobile terminals. A flip-type mobile terminal is one having a cover relative to a main body. A folder-type mobile terminal is one in which a folder part including an LCD is folded into opened and closed positions relative to a main body. A slide-type mobile terminal is one in which a display unit including an LCD is slidably opened and closed. Recently, a swivel-type mobile terminal has been introduced. This type of terminal has a display unit which rotates relative to a main body.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a related-art swivel-type mobile terminal. This terminal includes a terminal body 110, a display unit 120, and a swing hinge portion 130. The terminal body is provided with a PCB having various circuit components mounted therein, and a key pad 102 at its front surface. The display unit is rotatably and swingably connected to an upper end of the terminal body and includes a display window 122 for displaying information. The swing hinge portion is installed between the terminal body and display unit and supports the display unit in a way that allows it to rotate and swing relate to the terminal body. A microphone 104 for transmitting audio signals is mounted at a lower side of the terminal body and a receiver 124 for receiving audio signals is installed at an upper side of the display unit.
A swivel-type mobile terminal has a number of advantages. For example, the display unit 120 may be unfolded and then rotated to a desired position to allow convenient viewing of the display window 122 from a variety of angles. Also, the display unit may be further rotated and then folded over the terminal body, allowing the display window 122 to be exposed to the viewer when in a folded position. This allows a user to check an image displayed on the display window, and in the case of taking a picture using a camera makes it easy to check an image through the display window.
However, the related-art swivel-type mobile terminal has a number of disadvantages. For example, when the display window is rotated outwardly and then swung into a folded position over the terminal body, a phone call cannot be made. That is, a phone call can only be made after the display unit is rotated to a position relative to the display window that faces an inside position in alignment with the keypad.